= Ibn Jurayj, from Muhammad ibn al-Saib, from his mother. It is also reported through the chain of al-Hasan ibn Ali, from Ahmad ibn Zuhayr, from Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir, from Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, from Muhammad ibn al-Saib ibn Barkah ? from his mother. Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith was the Prophet’s ﷺ cousin and his milk-brother. He used to keep the Prophet company in the Jahiliyyah, but once the Prophet was sent, he opposed and lampooned him. He later embraced Islam during the Conquest and fought at Hunayn. As for the expression: “fa-sharrukumâ li-khayrikumâ al-fidâ’” (may the worse of you be ransomed for the better of you), Al-Suhayli remarks that, on the surface, the wording seems harsh, because normally one does not say “he is the worse of the two” unless there is some evil in both. Yet Sibawayh states in his Kitab: one may say, “I passed by a man who is worse than you,” meaning simply that he falls short of being your equal; it serves merely to disparage. In the same vein is the Prophet’s saying ﷺ: “The worst rows of men are the last ones,” meaning their share of merit is less than that of the first rows. (1) Muslim and al-Tabarani transmit this wording. In the Diwan it reads: “We should lose our horses if you do not see them…”. al-naq‘ is the dust cloud, and Kuda’ is the mountain pass at the foot of which lies the cemetery of Mecca. (2) The Diwan’s version reads: “They vie with the spear-points, bending sideways…”. To “vie with the spear-points” means that a man inclines his lance while the horse gallops as though trying to outpace the spear-head. al-musghiyyat are mares that lean and swerve ready for the thrust, and al-asl are spears. (3) mutamatirat means horses that pull ahead of the main body of the cavalry because of their speed; talattamuhunna means that the women slap their faces to turn them back.